Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
(PAl regions) | director = Phil Lord Christopher Miller | producer = Roman Coppola Lauren Shuler Donner Zack Snyder Deborah Snyder | writer = Joss Whedon Roger Allers Seth Grahame-Smith Linda Woolverton | artist = Hideaki Moriya Tomohisa Ishikawa | composer = Christophe Beck Graeme Revell (themes) | series = Sonic the Hedgehog | platforms = PlayStation 2, Wii | released = | genre = Racing | modes = Single-player, multiplayer }}Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity }} is a hoverboard racing video game developed by Sonic Team, Radical Entertainment, Avalanche Software, Beenox and Raven Software and published by Sega, Activision in North America and Vivendi Games in International for the PlayStation 2 and Wii. It is the fifth racing game in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the second entry the Sonic Riders trilogy. The game would have been ported for the Xbox 360 but was cancelled during development. A sequel titled Sonic Free Riders was released exclusively for that system in 2010. Gameplay Gameplay in Zero Gravity is largely similar to its predecessor, with characters racing on different types of hovercraft called "Extreme Gear". In addition to the mechanics from the previous game, Zero Gravity adds a new gameplay system based around gravity that replaces the predecessor's "fuel" system. During the race, performing tricks and other actions will increase a character's Gravity Points, or GP. If players have accrued enough GP by the time they enter certain areas of the track, they will enter a Zero-Gravity Zone, where they can perform one of two maneuvers. A Gravity Dive will create a small black hole that points gravity forward down the track, giving the player a powerful free-fall boost that is further augmented by striking objects in the vicinity that the hole displaces, such as cars or signs. Alternatively, Gravity Control will alter the gravity of the course, allowing players to reach otherwise-inaccessible areas and shortcuts. Players can also use Gravity Drift to more easily maneuver around sharp corners. Building on the upgrade system from Sonic Riders, Zero Gravity features a new system called "Gear Change". Once players gain a certain number of rings during a race, they can choose to activate one of their Gear Parts. Gear Parts are predetermined based on the racer's equipped Extreme Gear, and will grant bonuses when activated, such as increasing a character's top speed or automatically accessing shortcuts that would otherwise require Gravity Control. In addition to the boards, skates, and bikes from the previous game, Zero Gravity also introduces three new types of Extreme Gear: air rides, yachts, and wheels. New Extreme Gear can be unlocked via the in-game shop, with different Gear providing different advantages and unique abilities. The game includes a total of 16 race tracks, spread across eight areas with two tracks each, which are unlocked via story progression. A total of eighteen playable characters can be unlocked, including guest characters from Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, Nights into Dreams, and Samba de Amigo. Zero Gravity once again features two story campaigns, "Heroes" and "Babylon", which intersect with one another to create a single narrative. Three new game modes have also been added: Survival Mode, Survival Relay, and Survival Ball. Survival Mode entails each player to pick up missiles, then lock on and launch them at foes with Gravity Control, the winner being the last person standing. In Survival Relay, teams of two compete in a relay race, using their Extreme Gear as the baton. Survival Ball is a soccer-like minigame, in which players use Gravity Control to launch a ball through hoops. Both versions support traditional control schemes, which is solely implemented with the Nintendo GameCube controller in the Wii version, which also supports two other control schemes that utilize the Wii Remote's motion-sensing system to steer and initiate Gravity Dives. Plot The Story is split into two halves, the Heroes Story (Team Sonic), and Babylon Story (Babylon Rogues). Although the stories start separately, they overlap each other, telling the story as the main characters within that story see it. Following the format of Sonic Riders since the incident occurred which cancelled the Grand Prix three years ago, Babylon Story (who were exonerated for the crimes which they caused for the incident in Egypt three years ago) also includes an epilogue that expands past the Heroes Story leading to the last course. Sonic Sr (voiced by Troy Baker), Tails (voiced by Stephanie Sheh), Knuckles (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson), Terra (voiced by Josh Duhamel), Aqua (voiced by Kari Wahlgren), Ignitus (voiced by Ron Perlman), Sparx (voiced by Adam Wylie) and Cynder (voiced by Julie Ann Taylor) are alerted to robots that are attacking a famous city of the United States, New York City before the U.S. Military and the NYPD SWAT and ESU forces repelled the robots out of New York. They set out to retrieve a legendary artifact that has the ability to control gravity. Along the way they discover surprises, including the return of the Babylon Rogues, a group of avian thieves who are also after the artifacts. This sets off a war to decide who gets the artifact, leading them to settle their dispute by having an Extreme Gear competition. Toward the end of the Heroes story, Sonic Sr and friends along with Terra, Aqua, Ignitus, Sparx and Cynder discover that Eggman (voiced by Christopher Walken) (who is released from the prison) had created the robots, but they had gone berserk due to a malfunction. Helping Eggman regain control of his robots he attempts to use the power of the artifacts to control his machines at will from his secret base. Sonic Sr and friends along with Terra, Aqua, Ignitus, Sparx, Cynder and the Babylon Rogues destroy it with the help of the U.S. Military Forces. During the Babyon Rogues story, Jet (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), Wave (voiced by Brittany Snow), and Storm (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) discover that the artifacts are attracted by each other and have the power to raise an ancient Babylon city. During the game, Jet, Sonic Sr, Terra, Aqua and Ignitus both stop Eggman from using the artifacts to control his robots. However, due to a distortion, as the Babylon city begins to float into the sky, the artifacts power becomes corrupted and opens up a black hole which could vacuum in the whole world. Jet, Sonic Sr, Terra, Aqua, Ignitus, and the rest of the gang fly to the Babylon city to fight the Boss of the game. When the boss was defeated, the Babylon Garden ascended into space, with all of the damage averted. Jet, Wave, and Storm look at the sunrise and Jet says that he feels content with Earth before going to tell Sonic Sr to apologize. As Sonic Sr, Terra, Aqua, Ignitus, Sparx, Cynder and the gang travel back to the streets of New York City, they marvel over the artifacts and Babylon Garden's true origins: they originated from another planet unlike planet Earth. The Babylonians' home, Babylon Garden, malfunctioned during its space traveling and ended up in the Earth's orbit. They decided to shut down their home by removing its power, the Arks of the Cosmos, and letting them scatter across space until they land back on Earth, wishing to return home. Amy (voiced by Laura Bailey), especially, was amazed, believing it to be the origin of wishing on shooting stars. Later, Jet comes back, and later apologizing Sonic Sr for the incident in Egypt three years ago before telling Sonic Sr, Terra, Aqua and Ignitus to give them for another race in which both Sonic Sr, Terra, Aqua and Ignitus accepts it. Reception (Wii) 57.04% | MC = (PS2) 56/100 (Wii) 56/100 | GSpot = (PS2) 5.0/10 (Wii) 4.5/10 | GT = 4.9/10 | IGN = 5.8/10 | ONM = 72% }}Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity received mixed reviews from critics. It has been praised for its improved graphics, larger level designs, music and easier gameplay concepts, but has also been criticized for its loose controls, lack of online play, story material and removal of certain gameplay elements from its predecessor. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic assigned the PlayStation 2 version 59.31% and 56/100 and the Wii version 57.04% and 56/100. GameSpot gave the PS2 version 5.0/10 and the Wii version 4.5/10. IGN rated both the PS2 and the Wii versions a 5.8/10. The Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game a score of 72%, praising its solid multiplayer action and the amount of bonus features but criticized it for its rough controls. GameTrailers praised the game for its graphics, but criticized how the game required the GameCube controller for traditional control, which would be unavailable when played on newer Wii models or the Wii U, as well as how the game could be "almost unplayable" with confusing option selections. Notes References External links * *The Making of Sonic Riders Category:2008 video games Category:Cancelled Xbox 360 games Category:PlayStation 2 games Category:Racing video games Category:Sonic Team games Category:Sonic the Hedgehog video games Category:Video game sequels Category:Wii Wi-Fi games Category:Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games Category:Wii games Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games Category:Split-screen multiplayer games Category:Crossover video games Category:Radical Entertainment games Category:Sierra Entertainment games Category:Activision games Category:Avalanche Software games Category:Beenox games Category:Raven Software games Category:Films directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Category:Films produced by Lauren Shuler Donner Category:Films produced by Zack Snyder Category:Films produced by Deborah Snyder Category:Video games with screenplays by Joss Whedon Category:Video games with screenplays by Roger Allers Category:Video games with screenplays by Seth Grahame-Smith Category:Video games with screenplays by Linda Woolverton Category:Video games scored by Christophe Beck Category:Video games scored by Jake Monaco Category:Video games scored by Matthew Margeson Category:Video games scored by Jennifer Hammond Category:Video games scored by Nick Glennie-Smith Category:Video games set in New York City Category:Video games set in San Francisco Category:Video games set in California Category:Video games set in the United States Category:Video games set in Egypt Category:Video games set in Thailand Category:Video games set in Russia Category:Video games set in St. Petersburg Category:Video games set in Asia Category:Video games set in China Category:Video games set in Washington, D.C. 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